To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned any research into the tourism potential of local parish churches, chapels and meeting houses.
Answered on
8 May 2024
His Majesty’s Government has not commissioned any specific such research, but the International Passenger Survey (2019) found that 21% of inbound visits to the UK included visiting religious buildings, which are an important part of our national heritage.
Additionally, as part of the Discover England Fund, VisitEngland supported the National Churches Trust to create a number of new visitor experiences and to help them work more closely with destination management organisations to improve their visibility in the visitor economy. A number of these experiences and things to do, in and around the Trust’s churches, were held on the Explore Churches website (www.nationalchurchestrust.org/explore). Visit England continues to support and work closely with the National Churches Trust.